Maine West duo too much for Fenton
It was a good, old-fashion game of pick your poison for Fenton on Friday night in Bensenville.
Either collapse on Conor Hart or stick close to Tom Kukec. No matter which choice Fenton made, it wasn’t enough as Maine West downed the Bison 66-53 in a nonconference boys basketball game.
Fenton (2-11) came out fast, taking an 8-0 lead just more than two minutes into the game. The lead evaporated quickly as Maine West (6-6) went on a 20-6 run to end the opening period behind their two-headed monster of Hart and Kukec.
Hart ferociously attacked the hoop, while Kukec drained three 3s to put the Warriors up 6 points after one quarter.
“We came out a little lackadaisical, with everyone maybe not in the best of shape after the break, but we toughed it out,” Hart said.
“I anticipated a better start because we’re still on winter break, but we were resilient and got back to the things we need to do to be successful,” Maine West coach Erik McNeil said. “Tom hitting those outside shots gave us momentum.”
That pattern of attack would become a trend throughout the game, as Kukec drained seven 3s and Hart poured in 28 points to pace Maine West. Hart went to the foul line 14 times while also grabbing 6 rebounds and dishing out 6 assists. Most of his assists came via Kukec’s 3s, as Hart’s slashing style gave Fenton fits all night. Especially back-breaking for Fenton was Kukec’s buzzer-beater before halftime, when Hart found him in the waning seconds to give the Warriors an 8-point halftime lead.
“I have to get to the hoop and that creates for our offense,” Hart said. “We like running me a little higher, then maybe setting a pick and drive to the hoop and see what the defense does. If they suck in, I know I have my man Tom to kick it out to.”
For Fenton, guard Colin Wallace kept the game close by registering 14 second-half points en route to a team-high 19, but Fenton couldn’t get the deficit smaller than 6 points in the second half.
“It’s difficult when you have to stay close to one guy, especially a strong player like Conor Hart, then you have the other guy (Kukec) hitting seven 3s, and that’s really hard to defend,” Wallace said. “We needed to stay closer on defense and not allow that many open shots, and we need to make the easy ones; free throws, layups and short jumpers.”
Adam Kadlec chipped in with 13 points for Fenton, but the two-pronged attack of Hart and Kukec was too much to overcome.
“Conor was driving and getting me open shots, and it’s my job to knock them down,” Kukec said. “My shot was feeling good and when that happens we have more of a balanced game out there.”